A day after 23 were killed in Batala firecracker factory blasts, two persons were killed and one was seriously injured in a blast that took place in an agricultural field in Pandori village in Tarn Taran district.
Suspecting a terror angle, the Punjab Police have asked the post-blast investigation (PBI) team of the National Security Guards (NSG) to examine the site. The police had already called experts from the NIA — National Investigation Agency — to visit the site.
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta said that the nature of the blast was suspicious due to which he spoke to the NIA and the NSG to visit the site.
The NIA team of two-three experts visited the spot, located close to the border with Pakistan, in the evening and conducted the post blast investigation.
The police said that it was yet to be ascertained how this blast took place.
Investigators wanted to find out what was the material which triggered the explosion, the police said.
“There was no eyewitness of the incident. Therefore, it is difficult to know how it occurred...One who was grievously injured in the blast is undergoing surgery,” said the Inspector General of Police (Border Range) SPS Parmar.
The men were digging the ground when the blast occurred in an abandoned land near agricultural fields on early Thursday, said the Police said adding that the men seemed to be associated with some radical organisation and were trying to dig out hand grenades.
The deceased were identified as Harpreet Singh and Vikram Singh, while the injured was Gurjant Singh. All the victims were locals.The explosion was heard several kilometres away, said local residents.